The ANZ Championship’s two biggest and most powerful clubs share a compelling rivalry that stretches back to Melbourne Phoenix-Sydney Swifts encounters in the old national league, and to the many Victoria-versus-NSW interstate clashes in the decades before that.

At trans-Tasman level, the Swifts hold a 7-5 advantage over the Vixens, whose only other losing record is against the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic. The Vixens will take a 4-2 record into Sunday’s next instalment, in Sydney, while the strengthened Swifts - at 4-1, before the round six bye - have logged their best start since charging undefeated through all 13 regular-season games in 2010.

Shooter Caitlin Thwaites has bolstered one goal circle, and feisty fellow Diamond Sharni Layton the other. Younger players such as April Letton and Abbey McCulloch have developed, and former Vixen Sarah Wall has made such an impact in what was to be a temporary injury-replacement role at wing attack that she has been awarded permanency.

‘‘Clearly Sharni and Caitlin have made a world of difference to us at both ends of the court,’’ says new Swifts coach Rob Wright. ‘‘We were the lowest-scoring team in the competition last year, and that’s certainly changed around this year, and having Sharni down the other end just brings some stability and energy to what we do there.’’

The Vixens, meanwhile, have recovered to win their past two matches on the road - and have also, interestingly, prevailed in three out of five overall in Sydney - after consecutive losses at home. The league’s best defensive team is ranked fourth for goals-scored, despite having three shooters in the national squad.

‘‘I always think the Victoria-NSW games are classic games, because both states are renowned for high-quality, high-skill netball,’’ says Wright. ‘‘We probably play a similar brand of netball, but I also think compared to last year our team certainly is different, so I don’t look at what we’ve done previously, I look at just how well the Vixens are travelling. At the start of the season, I was going, ‘They’re one of the favourites for this comp’, and nothing’s changed.

‘‘I think they’re incredibly well coached and they’ve got strength across the court. I would think it’s going to be an incredibly tough game. Another tight one, I would think. Like every other week. I think that’s already shown (with) the number of tight games we’ve had already this year across the competition, and it just gets better and better."